Fragments
by nessa the writer
Summary: Ricky/Adrian; some Ben/Grace, Ben/Adrian. The news of the pregnancy left him torn, her confused and scared, and when they had everyone but each other, they felt more incomplete then they had ever been. 50 fragments a chapter, all leading to Ricky/Adrian.
1. Chapter 1

**Fragments**

1. Love: When they asked he told them; he told them how much he used to _love_ her and sometimes even how much he missed her - and he wondered if for one second she missed him too.

2. Aborting: "Adrian Lee's not _aborting_ her baby, she's having the baby." - he didn't like hearing it, but people said it anyway; people all over the hallways asked her how she was doing and felt her stomach that was barely even there anyway.

3. Feel: The word _feel_ crossed her mind all the time - "These pancakes make me _feel_ sick," "I can _feel_ the baby kicking, Ben, _feel_ it!" - he heard the words repeatedly, but for one second he wondered if the word feel would be there because of him - "I still feel for Ricky."

4. Over: "I'm_ over_ her, completely _over_ her." - but him and Amy both knew that wasn't the case; he still wasn't _over_ Adrian Lee - the more her stomach grew, the more his feelings grew.

5. Phone: He picked up the _phone_, hands shaking - he was dialing her number - "Hi, it's Adrian, you know what to do." - she still had the same voicemail and that made him smile.

6. Kisses: Ben never _kisses_ her, only her tummy; Ben hugged her too, but not like he did - Ricky's hugs were the special kind.

7. Relationship: "So do you want a _relationship_ or not, Ricky?" - he didn't even want Amy; Amy probably didn't want him either - but they settled - and he watched Ben and Adrian settling quite nicely, too.

8. Girl: "So, I hear it's a _girl_." - Madison approached Amy while she was with Ricky in the hallway one day and blabbed on and on about the sex of Adrian and Ben's baby - "A _girl_, cute, huh?" - and Amy nodded her head, but didn't look back to see Ricky's reaction - he wasn't nodding at all.

9. Clothes: Of course he'd bump into them in the mall; of course they'd be shopping for baby _clothes_ - and he thought it was cute the way she'd hold the little dress up to her tummy like the baby was right there trying it on - he didn't even know they were keeping her.

10. Supposed: She was _supposed_ to belong to him, to Ricky; she never imagined a life with Ben - she wasn't even in love with Ben - at least not the kind of 'in love' she was in when she was with Ricky.

11. Happen: "Things _happen_, baby." Cindy said hugging her daughter - they'd done this a lot lately - Adrian thought it was supposed to be called Postpartum depression, not Prepartum depression.

12. Two: "She's having the baby in _two_ months, I think." Ashley and Amy gossiped all night about her and that baby that would be here soon - the baby that should've been his and not Ben's; the baby he'd probably be a better father to anyway.

13. Touch: He thought it was awkward the way Ben would _touch_ her stomach; he'd rub it up and down like he was giving Adrian and the baby a massage - only an awkward massage - and Ricky watched and thought "I'd give her a better one."

14. Work: _Work_ was lonely the weeks before the baby arrived; Ben was always taking off to be with her - Ricky didn't mind the quiet much - he could cry without anyone watching or questioning him.

15. Hospital: "They went to the _hospital_, her water broke." Amy hesitantly ran throughout the kitchen, handing John to him - "Watch him, me and Grace and Ashley are going to be there with them." - and he wondered when the hell Amy and Grace became friends anyway.

16. Push: "_Push_, Adrian, _push_!" He was holding her hand, but she wasn't paying attention to that - not when her legs were open wide and the whole room was looking down there.

17. Newborn: "Uh, where's the_ newborn_ section anyway? Where do they keep them?" Grace ran up to the closest nurse she could find with Amy and Ashley behind her; she got no response from the nurse so she pushed her way past and found the nursery herself.

18. Window: They stood at the _window_ outside the nursery for what had seemed like the whole afternoon; the baby had no idea they were there, but they stayed there anyway - "She's pretty, huh?" Ben rubbed the small of Adrian's back as he watched the tears roll from her eyes.

19. Book: He had bought her a baby name _book_, but he figured she didn't even open it anyway - "We need a name, a name!" Adrian cradled her daughter in the hospital bed, admiring her huge eyes and tiny fingers and toes - "Relax," Ben looked down at his daughter, "It's been three hours."

20. Visitors: No _visitors _past ten, said the sign outside in the hall - but Grace stayed anyway - "She's beautiful, you two." - and Adrian looked down at her baby girl and back up at her best friend and realized at that moment that was all she wanted - but not all she needed.

21. Cute: "She's_ cute_," he was in the doorway of the hospital room and she started crying but he didn't want her to cry, that wasn't his intention at all - "Congratulations." was all he said to her - Ricky then spoke some words to Ben but she didn't bother to listen because she just had a baby and she was too tired to even care.

22. Papers: It was four days after, and her and Ben sat in the adoption agency together, hand in hand - "I can't do this, I can't." - and Adrian fled to the door and left Ben with a bunch of unsigned _papers_ in his hand.

23. Daddy: Ben was a good _daddy_ to Ava - the first week was a good one - "I love you, Ava." - he'd speak to her at night when he thought Adrian was asleep, but she heard everything.

24. Together: "Do you think you and Ben will ever be _together_?" She was always asked the same question, and she didn't doubt it, because the guy she would wait her whole life for probably didn't want her now anyway; he wouldn't want her now that she kept Ava.

25. Grandma: "Abuela or _Grandma_?" Cindy held a sleeping baby Ava and rocked her gently - "_Grandma_, mom, _Grandma_." Adrian would laugh at the thought at her mother even being called _grandma_, later questioning if keeping the baby was the right choice in the first place.

26. School: Managing _school_ and taking care of Ava was hard, but she did it - not before she was sleep deprived, but she did it - and Ben helped - she was grateful for that- but she wished that Ricky was the one she was doing this all with instead; not for a second did he leave her mind - or her heart.

27. Hand: "I'll be there holding your _hand_." Ben comforted her as she sat in the waiting room of the doctors' office with two-month old Ava in her car seat - her legs were shaking so he held her closer to him and shushed her - "It'll be okay, shots are no big deal."

28. Date: He had a _date_ tonight, so Ava would stay home alone with her mommy tonight, which Adrian really enjoyed - being a mother at seventeen going on eighteen was not easy, but she loved her little Ava - "Who are you going out with, anyway?" She wasn't jealous, just lonely - "Grace." And he kissed Ava, who was sitting in her little rocker, on the head, pat Adrian on the shoulder and took off.

29. Like: "I really _like_ him!" Grace squealed while Adrian held up the phone with her shoulder, attempting to breastfeed Ava - "Yeah, well, enjoy." Adrian hung up the phone, buttoned up her shirt and handed off Ava to Ben who walked in the room with a smile.

30. Stay: "She's going to _stay_ with my dad tonight, I'm going out with Grace." Adrian told Ben, who seemed a little ticked off at the thought of Adrian going out and leaving Ava. "Relax, she'll be fine, she's stayed with him before Ben." She was annoyed as she clicked the phone and opened her closet - the baby weight came off easy with her, so sexy clothes were back in.

31. Run: "You came here to _run_ into her, didn't you?" Jack and Ricky pulled up to the restaurant - "I didn't know-" Ricky was interrupted - "Bullshit!" Jack got out of his car and looked at Ricky who pretended to be confused - "Grace told me she was coming here with Adrian tonight, I wanted to _run_ into Grace - who's now dating friggin' Ben, by the way - and you suddenly ask me to come?" Ricky looked down, "So?" - And Ricky and Jack both knew why he'd suddenly ask Jack to 'hang out' on a Friday night.

32. Order: "_Order_ whatever, it's on me." Grace picked up a menu and handed it to her overly-tired best friend, who still managed to look pretty - "Seriously, whatever you want, it's on-" Adrian tapped on Grace, and both of the girls looked up to their ex-boyfriends above them.

33. Double: "Even though we're all not together anymore, it's kind of like, a _double_ date, y'know?" Grace said way too giddily leaving Adrian, Jack and Ricky in the same pissed-off expression - "How is-" Jack started, "The baby, Ava?" Ricky ended - She didn't know how he knew Ava's name, and wasn't exactly sure she wanted to know.

34. Fork: She didn't even drop it on purpose, the _fork_ just fell. "I-I'll get it," and he pulled out his chair and reached under the table to get her _fork_, Adrian's _fork_, "There you go, missy." She smiled because when they were dating, he'd always call her 'missy' and as corny as it sounded then, for him to say it was pretty adorable.

35. Call: "Just _call_ her," Ricky knew he'd end up listening to Jack, his suddenly new 'best friend', so he picked up the phone - "H-hello?" Hearing her even pick up made him smile, so he walked into the other room and closed the door behind him, leaving Jack smiling too.

36. Miss: "I _miss_ you more, actually." - two months passed and they've talked every day since, even when she wasn't in the mood because of 'those mood swings' as Ricky called them - he even made her laugh, which was a big deal for her, because after having a baby, nothing's really funny to you anymore.

37. Watch: "Mom, can you _watch_ her please?" - but Cindy was going to the store to pick up some things to decorate Ava's room with and Ruben was out golfing with Leo and Ben was out with Grace again so she was desperate - picking up the phone and dialing his number wasn't hard for her anymore, so she just called, "Can you _watch_ her, I'll even pay you."

38. Sitter: She'd never really baby-sat anyone before besides John when he was with Ricky and her, but she trusted him, he was always so good with John - "Don't pay me a thing, Adrian." - and Ricky grabbed Ava from her mom's arms, told Adrian to relax and have a good time at the nail salon, and was ready to prove he would be the best _sitter_ she'd ever have to hire.

39. Close: Senior year was drawing a _close_, baby Ava almost six months old now; she was already looking more and more like Adrian each day - "I don't have to sign your yearbook, do I?" Ricky grinned as Adrian handed him a Sharpie marker - "You do." - she had her flirty face on and he liked it because it reminded him of the old Adrian, the one he missed - and the one he was slowly bringing back without realizing it.

40. Signed: "I _signed_ right there." - he capped the Sharpie and tapped it on the spot where he had signed, gave her a hug and walked away from her locker as he noticed Ben approaching with Grace - she wasn't paying any attention to either of them tapping on her, she was too busy reading the section Ricky signed - "**_I don't really need to write 'I'll miss you' or 'have a good Summer vacation' because I'll be the one giving you a good Summer anyway ;) -Ricky_**

41. Cry: "MOM!" Adrian shouted from the top of the staircase, Ava in one arm and a bottle in the other - "She doesn't stop, all she does is _cry_!" - but Cindy told her daughter it was normal, babies_ cry_ and _cry_ and_ cry_ and she told her that even if she called Ben to come over she probably wouldn't stop - after that Adrian sat down and started to _cry_ too.

42. Graduation: She's valedictorian and he's playing the drums in the band's final song, but they don't take their eyes off each other the whole time - Grace, the class president, is making a speech, but they're not listening - all she can hear is, "_Graduation_ is just the beginning chapter of the rest of our lives-" and then the rest fades out, because she's too busy looking at her drummer and he's busy looking right back at his girl with the gold sash on.

43. Hugs: Ben _hugs_ her tightly in celebration of surviving the past year together taking care of their baby girl - she was genuinely happy that Ben, now a senior himself, came to her graduation to see her, Ava in her stroller next to him - she enjoyed his _hugs_ more and more lately, but she really only wanted a hug from one person in particular, and she wouldn't leave that auditorium until she got it.

44. Studying: It was their first day of Summer vacation, and he sat with her all day in the backyard alongside Ben, Grace and Ava, too - Ben and Grace kissed and giggled and played with baby Ava's hair, toes and fingers - Grace 'aww-ing' at every move Ava made - "So," he said picking up a pitcher of lemonade and pouring it into four cups, "_Studying_ family law, huh?" - and she nodded, sipping the lemonade closely to her mouth, letting the ice melt on her lips.

45. Fall: She wasn't too worried about it, she'd go to college during the day and come home to see Ava in the afternoon - the baby would stay in daycare during the day, and after school Ben would go pick her up, they had made that plan already - everything was bound to _fall_ into place.

46. This: She missed it, she missed _this - _after two weeks of an already-amazing Summer vacation, Ricky and Adrian got along better than average, him coming over everyday to hang out with her and Ava and even Grace and Ben - she knew they'd do it again, something in her knew it would happen, but she didn't know it would happen like _this_, and she liked it - Ricky told her she had never lost her game, even with a crying Ava in the background of it all.

47. Food: "Can you bring me _food_?" She spoke into the phone as she called her boyfriend to come over and bring her some dinner - "You're always hungry." She laughed, "I have a baby!" - and he laughed, too.

48. Happy: "I'm _happy_ for you, Adrian." Ben grabbed her hand one night while they were giving Ava a bath, which left both of them soaked - "Why?" She knew exactly why, but she liked hearing it anyway, "I'm _happy _you and Ricky are together again, I knew you guys would end up together." She didn't know he thought that at all, but hearing it made her mood rise even more than it already had.

49. Nice: "But he's a _nice_ guy, and a good dad, right?" Adrian nodded and quickly tried to escape this conversation with Cindy but knew she wouldn't be able to - "Yes, but I don't love him. And besides, I have a boyfriend, and he's got a girlfriend." Cindy looked up at her daughter and tried to still speak, "B-but, you both have Ava, and Ava can bring you two together." - Adrian tried to ignore her mother, but fighting back seemed better, "Look, we both love her, we love Ava unconditionally. She's our baby, but we're not an 'us', mom. Final." - and she rose from the table, grabbed a coffee quickly from the fridge and ran to her room to go find her cell phone so that she could call her boyfriend and complain about this to him.

50. Moon: "Goodnight, _moon_." Ben and Adrian spoke together as they read the last words of the story to Ava, who was fast asleep at the beginning of the story, but they continued to read anyway - Adrian looked up because she heard a knock at the front door, and Ben told her to stay there and that he'd get it - "It's Ricky," Ben said coming up the stairs two minutes later, "I'll stay in here with Ava, go." - and he smiled, leading his hand to the door, signalling that she should go be with her boyfriend - "Don't worry about Ava, she'll be fine with her daddy." - and Adrian felt her eyes tear up a little bit - as much as she'd love creating a family with Ricky, she couldn't ask for a better dad to Ava.

* * *

**A/N: **Keep in mind, this _is_ a Ricky/Adrian story, it will get there, I promise! I am a huge shipper of Ricky/Adrian, I just felt like I should include the whole pregnancy scenario with Ben in there first, but I do hope I'm including the both of their feelings well, I just need Ben as a main character to do so for now. I don't know about Ava, I wanted Adrian to keep her if she didn't get an abortion, the name Ava just popped into my head because I have a future name picked out that goes along with Ava for a future character in my story. Each chapter will be fifty words and fifty fragments, I don't know how long this story will be TBH, but I'd like to continue it. If I get 3+ reviews for the first chapter I will definitely continue this story! Thank you so much!


	2. Chapter 2

**Fragments**

1. Play: "What kind of toys does she _play_ with anyway?" Ricky said, wheeling a cart up-and-down the aisles of the toy store, Adrian next to him picking up random toys in sight, "Well, what do you think an eight-month-old baby would play with?" - he automatically shrugged his shoulders and wheeled the cart down an aisle of stuffed animals, "Mommy paranoia, I see?" Adrian playfully slapped him after that remark and told him to follow her with the cart - he obeyed.

2. Okay: "I invited Grace to dinner tonight, is that _okay_?" Ben spoke into the phone quietly, Adrian assuming Grace was in the room next to him or something - "Yeah, that's fine, I told Ricky to come, too." Ben smiled on the other end of the phone - "See you soon, 'mommy'." Adrian always laughed whenever Ben called her 'mommy' and it ended with her calling him 'daddy' in return, which she surprisingly found cute - they never spoke that way in front of Grace and Ricky though, and she didn't know why.

3. Tummy: Whenever Ava was cranky, Adrian would always blow on her _tummy_, leaving the beautiful wide-eyed baby in giggles - "She likes that?" Ricky entered the living room at the Lee's house, giggling at his girlfriend making baby sounds at Ava - When he got no answer, he just spoke again, "Well, it's pretty cute, even if she has no idea what the hell you're saying."

4. September: It was _September_, time to go back to school again - Adrian would be attending college to study Family Law part-time, and Ben would be watching Ava for her when she couldn't - "Anytime you wanna get away from the craziness," Ricky said while holding her, "You know where to go." Adrian knew exactly where - Ricky offered her a stay at his apartment 'whenever she pleased' - he wasn't attending college because of his hectic work schedule and because he had to take care of his two-and-a-half year old son, John, too.

5. Raining: It was _raining_ heavily outside, and Adrian was busy piling the groceries in her car, hoping Ava was okay at home with Cindy - all she needed to do was reach Ben but he wasn't answering his phone, and dialing a cell phone in the rain wasn't exactly fun, either - "Hi, this is Ben, I can't get to the phone right now so-" - more rain poured down on her as she was filling her car up - "Shit." - "Hey," Ricky's voice from the other end of the phone suddenly comforted her, even in the nasty weather, "Hi, look, I need help, I have so many groceries and Ben's not answering and my mom's got Ava today and I need to get home and study and I just-" He stopped her, "I'll be over in twenty."

6. Break: "She just threw up." Ben called Adrian from his house phone, Ava was over there today because she was studying at Ricky's house and just needed a _break_, he figured it was the least he could do - "Shit. Shit, shit, shit. Ben, is she okay, do I need to come over there?" A panicking Adrian gave Ricky the phone, watched him mumble a few words and nod, laugh, nod again, and hang up, "Go study, 'mommy', she's fine." He kissed her temple and reached out for her pen on the table resting next to her books and clicked it for her.

7. Stick: Ricky waited anxiously outside of the bathroom Adrian had locked him out of, talking through the door - "So, if you do have another baby, they'll be over a year apart, Ava's nine months old now and-" Adrian kicked the door, "Shut up!" He silently wished that the _stick_ his girlfriend was peeing on would show up pink, because having a family with Adrian is something he's wanted for a long time - "Aaaand, it's negative." She was relieved, kissing his body up and down, up and down - He was annoyed, wishing it weren't.

8. Man: "You're not half the _man_ Ben is!" She threw his t-shirt out of her room and onto the floor in the hallway - "Just go, you're gonna wake Ava up." And she watched his shadow walking away from her room, not even a 'goodnight'.

9. Compared: "You _compared_ him to me? Geez, Adrian." Ben bounced a very giggly Ava up and down on his lap, Grace in awe next to him - "Look, I was mad, okay?" Adrian slammed her cell phone down on the table, she couldn't take looking at a blank inbox any longer.

10. Steady: "So, you two are pretty _steady_ right?" Adrian and Grace were walking up and down the aisles of the clothing store, Adrian ignoring every article of clothing that Grace held up to show her - "We're very steady," Grace smiled and reached into her purse, "Look!" Adrian laid her eyes on a small ring - it couldn't have been an engagement ring, because, well, Ben would've told her, and it was too small and fragile to be an engagement ring - "A promise ring! Adrian, he gave me this ring and told me he loved me!" Adrian eyed the ring that was now on her best friends' hand, "Getting married anytime soon, Mrs. Boykewich?"

11. Answer: "She doesn't even _answer_ my calls," Ricky spoke into the phone, aggravated - "She's so busy with Ava, you've gotta give her credit." Ricky, of course, expected Ben to defend Adrian in an instant - "We're still sort of dating, and she acts like I don't even exist." Ben laughed, "Not true, Ricky, not true at all."

12. Keep: He didn't even know if he liked the fact Adrian decided to _keep_ the baby - ever since Ava she wasn't the same - sure, they broke up before he even knew she was with child, but she was just so drained and worn out all of the time, and he didn't like seeing her like that - it wasn't good for her - and for him.

13. Kiss: It was just a _kiss_ on the cheek - she was tired and crying because Ava had kept her up all night - he slept over because Ava wanted her daddy - and it happened - Ben just kissed her on the cheek because she was tired - "Go to bed, you're drained, goodnight."

14. Social: Adrian hadn't checked her Facebook account in weeks, she was way too tired and stressed with school and Ava to keep up with any _social_ networking in - surprising her when she signed on, her relationship status was still 'In a Relationship with Ricky Underwood' - she thought he would've taken that down by now between all of their fights; he left it up for everyone to see she was his, actually - she had one new message and just enough energy to click the 'open' button - it was from Ricky, but her eyes were so blurred that the words looked almost faded and scattered around the page - "**You don't check shit anymore because you're Ava always with her Ben and I tried but Ben told you loved me still but I think don't because you never back me even when I dial about ten times a day I hope you're not tired anymore you shouldn't tired because you're good mom give Ava Ben because need break sleep well I love you.**" - the last three words were the clearest to her, the rest was kind of just what she could make out in her tired eyes, but any message from Ricky gave her hope.

15. Lost: Grace _lost_ the ring; Adrian expected that to happen anyway - "You have to help me find it!" Adrian didn't have the energy to look, so she just called Grace back and told her, "Sorry, no luck, check your room." And Grace checked and checked and couldn't find it, which lead to three more phone calls from a panicky Grace that night.

16. Sorry: It was early Saturday morning - Ben slept over yet again, somehow him and Adrian both ended up in her bed - the doorbell rang and Ava started crying - "I'll get it," A sleepy Ben got up and gently pulled the covers off of Adrian, "Come downstairs with me, grab Ava." - "Who is it?" Adrian called, throwing on her robe and grabbing her daughter. "It's Ricky, open, I'm _sorry_."

17. Heaven: "Did it hurt?" Ricky said, grabbing Adrian's hand as a confused look filled her face, "when you fell from _Heaven_?_"_ Adrian ignored the corny pick-up line and grabbed the flowers wrapped in yellow tissue paper and ribbon in Ricky's hands - "Got them for you." He sighed, "I didn't even think you'd answer the door."

18. Grace: "It's called saying _Grace_, and I don't just enjoy it because it's my name," Grace reached her hands out to Ben and Adrian beside her, signalling Adrian to grab Ricky's hand, too - "Let's all join hands, even Ava," Grace smiled at Ricky and told him to grab Ava's hand, although she wasn't exactly paying attention - Ricky reached across the baby's high chair and grabbed her small hands - "Happy Thanksgiving, I love you all." Grace just closed the prayer like she was giving a speech, nodded, and began passing the stuffing.

19. Wish: "You got the wishbone," Grace looked over at Adrian's plate and smiled, "You have to make a _wish_." Only, she didn't really have to - she had everything she could ask for.

20. Work: "We _work_ because we're compatible." Grace told her best friend. - "That doesn't even make sense. You're compatible because you're... compatible." Adrian knew she was right, but she wasn't going to keep fighting Grace on it.

21. Shopping: "It's December and I didn't go _shopping_ for shit." Adrian held the phone closer, plopping her tired body on her bed and taking a deep breath - "Don't worry about that, you've obviously got better things to do." She got angry at him because she didn't know if he was being sarcastic or not - she just hung up.

22. Fault: "It's not your _fault_, you've been busy." Ben tells her - only, she doesn't want to hear this from Ben, she'd rather hear it from Ricky - who hasn't called her in three days, leaving her in a silent panic - "You're a good mom," He wraps his arm around her, "Ava loves you, and I love you." She barely noticed Ben's 'I love you', nor returned it, she just wanted one from the person who hadn't said it in over a month.

23. Drink: Ben's invited and Grace is invited and Ricky's probably invited, too - Ben says it's a drinking party and Adrian says, "Then I'm glad I'm not invited, I don't _drink_." - Ben tells her that it's okay, they probably just forgot to invite her - Adrian says, "No one invites the 'mommy' anymore, but I don't care, I don't want to be there anyway." - all she wants is to be there, not only for Ricky anymore, but to feel like a part of something again.

24. Broke: They were on and off; one week they talked everyday, the next they barely heard from each other - she tried to think of that as her normal pattern with him now, but she couldn't - it _broke_ her inside - secret is, it _broke_ him, too.

25. Stop: He wanted to put a _stop_ to this, their stupid pattern - he'd try and call her and even though his hands were sweaty and his words were barely coming out, he called her anyway - "Hi, it's Adrian, you know what to do." - he smiled again, just hearing that voicemail made him happier.

26. Back: She called him _back_, she had to call him back - she missed him - "Don't cry over him anymore, Adrian. You deserve better." Ben's repetitive words never got tiring to her.

27. Christmas: It was _Christmas_ and Ava was in her rocker fast asleep, but she was spoiled rotten, anyway - Grandpa Ruben went overboard - as expected - on the holiday shopping, buying things for her even Adrian knew she'd probably never open, but were nice to have, anyway - "Thank you, daddy, I love you." She hugged Ruben tightly, thanking him for what she and he both knew was not only the holiday, but the past two years.

28. Later: "Merry Christmas!" He sounded cheerful and she liked that - "Can I see you _later_?" She liked that too. - "Of course you can, Ricky," Adrian smiled and looked over at her dad and her mom and Ben and Leo and Betty and Ava, too, then taking the phone into the kitchen, talking with a whisper, "You have to see all the things Ruben bought for her," she laughed and so did he, "She's a spoiled one."

29. Minded: A few more months passed after that, and there were no fights anymore - he stopped by to see Ava all of the time - sometimes even more than Ben, not that she _minded_.

30. Friends: If it was possible, Ben and Ricky became better _friends_ than they were already - Ben loved when Ricky held Ava and even tried to pay him when he baby-sat her - Ricky said that keeping her relationship with Grace as a friend was good for her, he told her not to push Grace out of her life because Grace loved her - and Adrian listened.

31. Therapy: She told herself she didn't need it, but Cindy recommended it - "Going to _therapy_ doesn't mean you're crazy, it just means you need someone to talk to, someone to listen to your problems, that's all."

32. Went: He _went_ too - not with her, but he _went_; they used to go together actually - "So you still go, are you sure?" She asked him while nervously tapping her foot - "Would I lie to you?"

33. Her: "You still talk to _her_?" By _her_, she meant Amy, the mother of Ricky's son - "Just in regards to John."

34. Selfish: She wanted his answer to be 'Nope, totally forgot about her,' - but it couldn't be - he couldn't possibly quit talking to her at all - and Adrian knew this - hell, she felt _selfish_ - Ben and her talked all the time - late at night when no one was home and the lights were out and Ava's slow breaths could be heard in the background.

35. Walk: She took her first steps, and he was there when it happened, too - "Look, she's starting to _walk_!" Ricky ran into the kitchen quickly grabbing Adrian, "Get a video camera or something." - Ricky was more excited than she was, she just felt like calling Ben to tell him that his daughter was walking.

36. Lie: "Don't _lie _to me, I thought we were done with that," Ricky sat up on the couch and brushed Adrian's legs, which were previously thrown across his lap, off of him - "If you have any sort of feeling toward Ben, let me know - it's understandable - he does a lot for you and you appreciate him, I can tell." Ricky looked pained, "But I love you more than he ever will."

37. Aunt: "I'm like her _aunt_. One weekend alone with her won't hurt, Adrian." Grace kept on persuading Adrian to let her watch Ava for a weekend - overnight even - and she finally had the chance - Adrian had to remind herself that Ben would come over and help Grace watch her too, and when she did, she felt relief - "Okay, you can watch her."

38. Spring: It was the beginning of _Spring_, Ava turning one in a few days - "We'll be home for her birthday, I'll make sure of it." And she handed Ava over to Auntie Grace who was eager to be like a second mother to her through the duration of Adrian and Ricky's vacation to Palm Springs - "We needed this, thanks Grace." And she kissed her daughter all over for what seemed to Ricky to be around forty times, grabbed her suitcase and walked out the door, hand-in-hand with him.

39. Motto: They agreed they wouldn't tell anyone about the trip if they asked - Ricky made up what he called his 'new _motto_' - "What happens in Palm Springs stays in Palm Springs"- and he said it with a smirk every time, leaving Adrian's mind to flash to parts of their vacation.

40. Grow: "Children _grow_ up fast, huh?" Ava's first, second, and third birthday's flashed right in front of everyone's eyes - Adrian, now a stunning 21, lay out her new scrapbook, alongside with glue, paper, pictures, stickers, borders and everything else you could think of that was in relation to scrapbooking - "I bet it'll look cute." Ricky entered the room, caressing his beautiful girlfriend on the cheek - "I want in." And Adrian laughed, handing him a picture and a glue stick.

41. Young: They were _young_ - Adrian considered herself pretty _young_ at 21, and they were a year younger than her - "We may be _young_," Grace announced at dinner one night - "But we know what we want." Ben cut her off and raised his glass - "I asked Grace to marry me tonight."

42. Tear: There was a single _tear_ in his eye and she didn't know why - she had watched him pull out his chair, get up, hug Grace, sit back down, forget to hug Ben, stand back up and hug Ben - the whole time there was that _tear_.

43. Daddy: They didn't know she was leaning outside of the door, so they spoke anyway - "Mommy reads to you every night, huh?" An 'uh-huh' quietly came out of Ava's mouth - Adrian smiled on the other side of the door - "And _daddy_?" Ricky waited for a response from the overly-adorable three year old - "_Daddy_ has a new lady, Auntie Grace." Ricky laughed at the thought of Ava's dad getting with her 'aunt' - "You can be my pretend _daddy_, I love you this much." Adrian didn't have to be in the room to know that Ava held out her arms as far as she could - she knew it by Ricky's chuckle, and because that's what Ava did to her everyday after she'd read a story to her.

44. Icky: She didn't know what it was they were doing exactly, but she once had described it to her Aunt Grace as her mommy and Ricky doing the '_icky_' faces - but Auntie Grace laughed and corrected her - "Mommy and Ricky do that because they love each other" - and Ava then said she'd 'never love anyone if loving someone is that icky.'

45. Time: Ricky figured it was about _time_ to do it - Grace and Ben were acting differently and she didn't like it - "Watch Ava tonight, make sure she goes to bed by 9 please!" - and Ben and Grace happily nodded, Ava already half-asleep in Ben's arms - "Something's not right," She said in the car on the way to restaurant, "Everyone's acting strange." - but her complaints stopped when she got home - maybe the ring with the two-times-too-big diamond on her hand had something to do with it.

46. Married: "Mommy's getting _married_, baby." She thought Ava wouldn't fully understand it - maybe she would ask if her and Ben were finally tying the knot - Ava shot out of bed, "So that makes Ricky daddy now!" And Adrian tickled her daughter until her breath was taken away by a flood of laughter.

47. Moment: The wedding was a beautiful _moment_ - Grace, the maid of honor, especially thought so - Ben was there and he cried - but not out of sadness - "You look beautiful," He told her with tears in his eyes moments before the ceremony started, "And I don't think we could've picked a prettier flower girl." - Four-year-old Ava walked down the aisle second to last, right before her mother would come out, dropping way too many flower petals - leaving everyone in an awe of laughter - with her soft raven-colored curls flowing past her jawline - "He looks like a scaredy-cat!" She tapped on Ben, who was holding her during the entire time Ricky and Adrian were at the altar - "That's love for you, baby."

48. Reception: The _reception_ was a lot of fun; for Adrian, the moments where she didn't have to pose for a picture or run around to hug someone and thank them for coming were relaxing in themselves - Ava tapped on Auntie Grace and told her she saw mommy and Ricky make the 'icky' face on the dance floor a few times - when Grace laughed and pat her head without responding, Ava went off to find six-year old John and see what his thought was about the 'icky' face.

49. Happy: She felt _happy_; not content, but _happy_ - and they all liked seeing her this way - "You're a great mother, you know that?" Ricky would say to her every so often, "You're lucky to have a little girl who loves you this much."

50. Family: They told her and even John that there were all different kinds of families - no one had a normal _family_ anymore - "You have four parents who love you very much," Adrian would remind Ava everyday how many people loved and cared for her, "You have a mommy and daddy who love you with all of their heart, and you have Grace and Ricky who love you just as much."

* * *

**A/N: **Thank you all so much for the kind reviews on the first part of this story! I'm not done here- I still have so much more I want to explore with Ricky and Adrian's relationship. Right now I'm exploring the background characters like Ben, Grace, John and especially Ava. I just had to make the marriage in this part, I know I sort of rushed and left out a lot of details but I hope it's not too choppy or horrible, lol. Look for a new part soon, I usually update quickly!


	3. Chapter 3

**Fragments**

1. False: It wasn't _false_ this time - and he still didn't mind.

2. Doctor: "You should go a _doctor_," Ben told her, "Just to make sure." - and he hugged her and told her that everything would be alright, but she was just creeped out because, well, it wasn't his.

3. Positive: "It was _positive_," she told Ricky as he stroked her back, "And let me tell Ava, she doesn't need to hear it from you."

4. Gross: "_Gross_!" Five-year-old Ava made a face in disgust when Adrian told her where the baby was and would be staying for the next nine months, "Does it get dirty in there?" - and all Ricky did was stand in the doorway and laugh.

5. Legal: Being twenty-three and pregnant was better than being seventeen and pregnant - it hurt less and less people looked at her funny, because well, she was _legal_ now.

6. Stroking: Her back ached at night and she was barely three months - "You barely have a tummy yet," and he'd sit there _stroking_ it all night long, "Feel better?" - but it didn't, it didn't feel 'better' at all.

7. Awhile: "I'm not having kids for _awhile_," Grace flipped through a stack of parenting magazines lying on the kitchen table in Adrian's house, "Ben doesn't want any more." - and Adrian just rolled her eyes and turned away.

8. Move: They both wanted to _move_ - they both knew they needed to _move_ - living with Cindy and Ruben wasn't cutting it anymore.

9. Cozy: "It's small, but kind of _cozy_, no?" Ricky wrapped Adrian's still-petite frame in his, embracing the new house they'd just purchased - "Ava called that bedroom." He said, pointing.

10. Match: "The name has to _match_," Adrian reached for a clean paintbrush on the ground, getting quickly aggravated at Ricky, who was concentrating on one spot of the wall - "Well what matches with Ava, anyway?" And she shot him a dirty look, pouted and said, "I'll just ask Ben, thanks for nothing."

11. Help: Ava always offered to _help_ - the nursery took longer than expected - "You can _help_ me, baby," Ricky lifted Ava up into his arms and helped her stroke her very uneven lines of paint onto the wall, knowing he'd just add another coat on later.

12. Always: They had more fights then usual - doors slammed and "Mommy went to see Ben," became familiar words out of Ava's mouth - "Way to leave your kid, bitch!" Ricky would scream out, watching her silouette disappear in the driveway, later regretting it - "I'm _always_ here for your mommy and you, you know that kiddo?" And he'd look at the sadness in Ava's eyes everytime "mommy went to see Ben" and it made his eyes repeat the sadness twice as much.

13. Daddy: "She likes him better than me," Ben told Adrian, who was sitting at his kitchen table sipping ginger ale - "Not true!" Adrian said playfully, "She loves you, you're her _daddy_." - "But she calls Ricky '_daddy_' more than me now." And Adrian knew he was right so she stopped talking.

14. Kick: She felt the baby _kick_ for the first time - she was around five months now and was expecting it - "Let me feel!" Ava would jump up and down and tug on Ricky's shirt and tell him to feel, too - and he would, without hesitation.

15. Different: It was _different_ than his first child; Amy never let him be near her when she was carrying John - "You can feel it if you want, come here!" Adrian was giddy and excited as she placed her husbands' hand under hers, right on her growing belly - and he smiled - and sometimes cried - because you don't get that feeling too often.

16. Sex: "Did you find out?" Grace would ask anxiously everyday, and would be disappointed when she received a 'no' - Adrian was having another fit when Ricky told her that they should wait to find out the _sex_ until the baby's born - that yellow's a neutral color so it didn't matter that the nursery was all yellow, anyway.

17. Fall: "Did you _fall_ in love with me when you first met me?" She asked before turning off the lamp-switch - and he answered honestly, "No, it took me forever just to admit it to myself," - "Goodnight." She harshly pressed the switch on the lamp off - she was angry, but all he was doing was being honest with her.

18. Special: "Ava's such a _special_ girl," he told her as she was cuddled into him on the sofa, "Despite past things I've said," Ricky sighed and stroked Adrian's hair, "I'm so glad you kept her." - he totally meant it, too.

19. Still: His body was _still_ - almost as if he was frozen - "Wake up!" Adrian tugged on the t-shirt that hung loose on her husband, "Wake up, I think the baby's coming." - and Ricky shot up, rubbing his over-tired eyes and taking her hand - never have so many thoughts run through his mind at once.

20. Yours: "Grab Ava! A-and call Ben and Grace, tell them to-" Ricky pat Adrian on the shouler, telling her to "calm down" and that he could "handle it, there was no need to panic." - Ricky suggested calling Ben and Grace over to stay with Ava, but Adrian screamed, "Screw it! You're taking her, she's practically _yours_ anyway."

21. Positive: "Are you _positive_?" Ricky questioned whether this was a false alarm or not, trying to make a connection with Adrian's exhausted eyes, "I mean, things like this happen, they're called false alarm pregnancies, you think you're having the-" - Adrian slapped his hand off of hers and interrupted him, glaring at him with attitude, "Look, just drive!"

22. Want: He didn't even _want_ to keep a count of how many times she yelled at him before receiving the epidural - "I can even be outside of the delivery room when she comes if that's what you _want_, whatever you _want_ baby," Ricky squeezed her hand to let her know he would be there for her - he truly meant it - "No," Adrian motioned for him, "If they had me pick just one person in the single world I'd _want_ to be here with me right now, it'd be you." She kissed his hand and he gazed right into her eyes - "Bring it, mommy."

23. Pain: She was in_ pain_, even worse _pain_ than she had experienced giving birth to Ava, who was currently outside in the waiting area with Ben and Auntie Grace, probably sleeping, since it was around 3 AM - "I've got your hand," Ricky looked up at Adrian, who was sweating and crying and screaming, "Don't let go of it, take all of your _pain_ out on my-" - Adrian was told to give an even harder push than before, soon listening to Ricky's command; she squeezed his hand, the skin on the outside turning a flushed white color, which made him yelp.

24. Clean: "They're going to _clean_ her off," Ricky whispered to Adrian, still gripping her hand, "And then we get to hold her." - Keeping the gender a surprise was pretty exciting, especially to Ricky, who nearly cried when the doctor announced they had just had a six pound nine ounce baby girl.

25. Second: "She's beautiful," Grace entered the room with Ricky, behind them was Ben, carrying Ava in his arms - "Did you name her yet?" Grace looked down at the baby and grabbed her tiny foot, "She looks like you." - And Adrian, with tired eyes said, "You name her," she sighed, "After all, you're an aunt for the _second_ time now." - and Grace squealed and shouted out the name Alicia and Adrian smiled.

26. Two: Time flew, Alicia almost turning _two;_ seven-year-old Ava the best big sister he'd ever seen - "You really love her, don't you?" Ricky would ask, holding Ava in his lap - "Yeah, I love Alicia. Isn't she pretty, like mommy?" - and Ricky wished that Adrian could see the way he had smiled when Ava asked, leaving him to nod his head, "Just like mommy."

27. Baking: He didn't mind _baking_ with her - he actually enjoyed it - "You wanna watch too, babe?" And he boosted Ava up on the counter, letting her lick some brownie mix off the spoon - When she turned around he rubbed flour on her nose and she yelped and rubbed it back, "Two can play this game!" - Ava laughed at her mom and Ricky as she watched them toss flour carelessly in the air - She felt young again and he liked making her feel this way.

28. Sleep: "Remember when you used to _sleep_ around?" He didn't want to remember it but she brought it up - "I'm sorry," He grabbed her hand and intertwined their fingers, "You deserved better." - When her eyebrow raised in confusion, he slowed down his words, "I. Shouldn't. Have. Cheated. On. You. Because. I. Love. You. Okay?" - she smiled, "'Bout time."

29. Thanks: "_Thanks_," They sat at his kitchen table, it was five AM and she couldn't sleep and neither could he - "Fight with Ricky?" - "Nope." She looked straight into her coffee mug, sipping slowly - "Then why can't you sleep? Is Ricky still asleep? Hell, Grace is upstairs sleeping like an angel." - she laughed; she was genuinely happy to see him so happy over Grace - "I guess I just wanted to see you." She looked back into the coffee cup - "Missed me, mommy?" - and they both laughed.

30. Motion: When they were together, every other sense of _motion_ around them was blocked out; the crying baby, the sounds of Ava tossing and turning at night - they were all gone - "I love you," he took a deep breath in, pursed his lips behind her ears and stroked her leg - "And," she moaned, "I love you even more."

31. Gentle: One word she never associated with Ricky was _gentle_, until she walked into Alicia's room and he was tucking her in the covers - "Sleep tight, baby."

32. Held: She _held_ the old yearbook in her hands, crying right at the spot he signed his name - "Look," she showed him the spot, now covered with a few tears, "You signed there."

33. Mad: Alicia's crying drove her nuts; and it was almost as whiny as Ben when he complained about getting legal rights to take Ava whenever he wanted - "It makes me _mad_," Adrian complained to Ricky, "I gave birth to the kid, he can't just take her when he pleases." - and he tried to understand what she was going through, but he secretly sided with Ben on this one.

34. New: "Our families aren't like others," Ricky told Ava, who had just returned home from school, dumping her homework and books all over the dining room table, "We're like, a _new_ kind of family." - And when Adrian heard that, a single tear formed in her left eye; she didn't even know why.

35. Cheater: "Once a _cheater_ always a _cheater_," Grace rubbed Adrian's back, but that didn't stop her from crying - "I don't understand," she said, holding her cell phone in one hand, "Who's number is this?" - And she flashed the screen to Grace, displaying a number quite familiar to her.

36. Be: "If you wanted to _be_ with Zoe, you shouldn't have done this to me," She was in the middle of throwing all his laundry at him from the top stair, "Bastard." - He didn't even speak, just took what was thrown at him and threw it on the couch - he shouldn't have to prove anything to her.

37. Make-Up: "_Make-up_ sex is always fun," Ricky knocked on their room door, even though it was half-open - "No." And she closed it. - It didn't stop him - he knocked twenty times in ten minutes, standing outside, listening to her tears fall - "Do you wanna _make-up_ some shit lie that you weren't seeing Zoe? Huh? Wanna make that up?"

38. Prove: "What do I have to do to _prove_ that I wasn't with her?" When she didn't answer him, it hurt her, but her look remained to frozen to make out exactly what expression she had - Two hours later, Ricky came up to the bedroom and handed her a piece of notebook paper - three pieces - Her eyebrow raised as she placed down the paper on her bed - "It's just a list. You don't have to read it." - But she did anyway, '**300 things that I love about my wife**_'_.

39. Reason: _Reason_ #300: Being with her makes me forget that there are billions of other women in the world - I only need her anyway.

40. Numb: She snuck behind his back while he was bathing Alicia and squeezed him from behind - "What was that for?" He started to apologize for all of the soap he'd gotten on her - "For this," And she held up the reasons list with reason #300 highlighted - "You still into that whole highlighter thing?" And he kissed and kissed her until her lips went _numb_.

41. Better: _"_You're a _better_ person than I am," she told him while they were sitting on the couch, "Much _better._" - And he told her to stop the nonsense and tickled her to the point where it made it hard to breathe - "I almost made you lose your breath there," Ricky sighed, "Not such a good person now, right?" - and they had a pillow fight for what had seemed to be three hours and they both soaked it all up - she felt refreshed and he felt young and free.

42. Thunder: "Mommy, I hate _thunder_!" Ava covered her ears as she rolled around in bed, calling out for Adrian multiple times - "Just ignore it, honey, it'll be fine," - And Ricky popped in the doorway, rubbed Ava's head and told her to go back to sleep and told Adrian to come with him - "Hey," he grabbed her waist, "How long has it been since we've made out in the rain?" - "Let's try _**never**_?" And he picked her up, hoisted her legs around his waist, plopped her up on the hood of his car and kissed her, letting the rain soak them both up.

43. Baby: "Ben says we should have a _baby_," Grace told Ricky, "And I want to. I want to have a _baby_." - "A baby's not just something you feel like having one day. You can't just change your mind the next day and say 'oh, never mind, don't want a _baby _anymore. Make a commitment and stick to it, I did." And he looked in the door of Alicia's room, eying his sleeping and calm daughter.

44. Cute: "It was _cute_," Ricky grabbed the camera, "Adorable, actually. And I got a picture of it." - Adrian covered her hands over her eyes, pushing his arm away - "I look bad when I sleep! Stop!" - "Look!" And when she wouldn't look, he picked her up and swung her around and kissed her whole body anyway.

45. Love: "Ricky," she said, lying still in bed, "I _love_ you." - "And I _love_ you."

46. Breakfast: "_Breakfast_ in bed for you, sick one." Ricky joked and kissed his wife's burning head, "You're so warm." - "And eggs will help?" But she ate them anyway, him watching her the whole time - "You chew really cute, y'know that?" She didn't know that, but she loved that he payed attention to the way she ate.

47. Test: "I took a _test_," Ricky overheard Adrian's phone call with Grace, which was left on speaker after she left the room to put a sleepy Alicia to bed - "Mhm, I see," Ricky took the phone off speaker and pressed it against his ear, "And?" - Adrian heard Grace shout something on the other line, shook her head and laughed - "It's positive!" Ricky yelled over to her.

48. Game: "I used to think we were a _game_," Adrian told him - "_Game_?" - "Yeah, like, y'know, a _game_. You played me and I kept coming back, I betrayed you and all you did was even the score. The whole time it was a game." - Ricky kissed her wrist, "Still is a game. Winner goes on top, y'know how it works," And she smiled and chased him into the bedroom, banging the door behind her.

49. Mommy: "I love Ricky, _mommy_," Ava was sitting at the kitchen table coloring - very outside the lines - as Adrian was cooking eggs and bacon - "And Ricky loves you, baby." - "Why did you choose Ricky _mommy_, and not daddy?" - "Ricky and I have always gone back to each other. I never stopped loving Ricky," And she sat all morning talking about Ricky and their past and explained it all to Ava - "You bought a house to spy on him?" Her eyebrows raised - "I was crazy, don't you ever be crazy like _mommy_." - Ricky walked into the kitchen, holding a sleepy Alicia, "_Mommy_ was pretty crazy, huh?" And he bounced the baby a few times - "Crazy in love, I guess." Ava smiled.

50. Fragment: Life was like a big _fragment_ - a never-ending compilation of sentences for Adrian and Ricky - "No matter what happens, it's me and you," And he meant those words more than he'd ever meant them before, "And Ava and Alicia and Ben and Grace, too," And he meant them again, "No matter how crazy it gets." - "I love you, Ricky," And she pulled him in for one of those long kisses, the ones he loved most - She jumped in the middle of it, hearing a bang - "It's just thunder," he stroked her hair, "First one to the car sits on top of it!" And she chased her husband outside, telling Ava to keep an eye on Alicia, and never felt more complete.

**A/N:** Quick-ish update, thanks for all the reviews! This is the last and final chapter to my story. In all it's 150 fragments, I hope you've enjoyed all of them. There's nothing more for me to really write now, it was kind of a drag just writing 26-50 on this one itself, lol. I'm glad/thankful for all the amazing reviews- thank you! I will write more Ricky/Adrian in the future, I'm sure of it, if you want that, of course. :3


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